The Art of Chaotic Divinity
Chapter 1558: The Road to Seeking Medicine
Yanxia Mountain, the sacred land of the Cangqiong Sect, had suffered heavy losses because of Yan Jinghong's disaster. Many elders who had lived in seclusion for years were either killed or injured.
Fortunately, the sect's teachings had not been completely lost.
After Ling Feng arrived at Yanxia Mountain, he immediately explained his purpose. Borrowing the ancestor's relic was somewhat disrespectful to the departed, but Ling Feng had rendered great service to the Cangqiong Sect and the Tianbai Empire.
Moreover, Madam Hong Lian herself had sent Ling Feng to retrieve the Hong Lian relic. Because of this, the elders of Yanxia Mountain did not hesitate for long before agreeing to hand the relic over to him.
"Little friend Ling Feng, this Hong Lian relic may not be some supreme treasure, but it holds great meaning for Yanxia Mountain. Since it is needed to save Senior Sister Hong Lian's daughter, we can entrust it to you."
After a brief hesitation, one of the elders ordered someone to retrieve the Hong Lian relic from the ancestral hall and handed it to Ling Feng.
"Thank you, Elder!"
Ling Feng bowed deeply. It was naturally best that the elders were willing to lend the relic. If they had refused, he would still have taken it by force if necessary.
After obtaining the Hong Lian relic, Ling Feng immediately set off again and rushed back to the imperial capital without stopping.
...
"Madam Yue, I've brought the Hong Lian relic!"
Ling Feng hurried into the sickroom. After greeting Madam Hong Lian, he helped Yue Yunlan sit up and circulated his pure elemental force, guiding the Hong Lian relic into her body.
Sure enough, after a short while, Yue Yunlan gradually began to breathe again. Her breath was still extremely faint, almost imperceptible, but at least a trace of vitality had returned.
Ling Feng quickly continued channeling elemental force into her body. He discovered that the Hong Lian relic inside Yue Yunlan acted like a barrier, sealing his elemental force within her body.
However, the barrier was not completely closed. Vitality still slowly leaked out, and the barrier itself seemed to be gradually weakening.
Perhaps Madam Hong Lian was right. Even with the Hong Lian relic, it might only extend Yue Yunlan's life for one month, and even that might not be guaranteed.
But when Ling Feng felt the faint vitality returning inside her body, he was still overjoyed. One month was still time. No matter what, he would cure Yue Yunlan completely.
...
Days passed.
At last, Yue Yunlan slowly woke up. Her body felt light and fragile, like a withered leaf that had fallen from a tree and was destined to rot into the soil.
"Where... am I?"
For the first time in her life, Yue Yunlan felt so weak and disoriented. Her ears rang, her spirit felt scattered, and she could barely gather any strength.
After lying with her eyes closed for a while, she slowly opened them. The first thing she saw was a young girl dozing beside her bed, leaning against the bedside with faint tear marks still visible at the corners of her eyes.
The girl was Qiao Qiao.
"I... didn't die?"
Yue Yunlan was slightly stunned. She clearly remembered exhausting all her vital essence to bloom the Three Lives Lotus. Her mother had told her before that those with the Hong Lian Sacred Body could only bloom the Three Lives Lotus once in their lifetime, and once it bloomed, the caster would die immediately.
So why was she still alive?
Just then, footsteps came from outside the door. Yue Yunlan subconsciously closed her eyes again. Soon, she felt two gazes fixed on her.
"Oh no, how did I fall asleep?"
Qiao Qiao hurriedly jumped up and said apologetically, "Sorry, Madam, I..."
"That's enough, Qiao Qiao. You're injured too, so go get some rest."
The voice was extremely gentle. It was Madam Hong Lian.
"Madam, I want to stay a little longer."
Qiao Qiao bit her lip and rubbed her eyes hard. "I'm not sleepy at all. Not even a little!"
Madam Hong Lian sighed softly. She held a jade bowl in her hands. Soon, Yue Yunlan felt a bitter but slightly sweet medicinal soup being poured into her mouth. After the medicine entered her stomach, a warm current rose in her dantian and flowed through her limbs before quickly dissipating.
"Lan'er..."
Then another voice sounded. Yue Yunlan recognized it immediately. It was her father.
A slightly rough hand gently stroked her cheek. Yue Zhonglian took a deep breath and sighed.
"I'm useless as a father. I call myself the sect leader of the Divine Guardian Sect, yet I can't even protect my own daughter."
Yue Yunlan felt a deep sadness in her heart. She wanted to speak and comfort him, but she had no strength at all. Even opening her eyes felt extremely difficult.
At that moment, someone else entered the room. Yue Zhonglian quietly wiped away his tears. It was Ling Feng. His face looked exhausted, and his eyes were filled with bloodshot veins. Ever since the battle in the imperial city, he had not rested at all.
"Sect Leader Yue, Madam Yue, Yunlan... she still hasn't woken up?" Ling Feng asked softly as he clenched his fists.
Madam Hong Lian shook her head. "Thanks to the medicine you prescribed, Mr. Ling, Lan'er's breathing has stabilized quite a bit."
The room fell silent for a long time. Then Ling Feng let out a heavy sigh.
"It's been three days..."
"Mr. Ling, you should get some rest too. These past three days you've either been preparing medicine or transferring elemental force into Lan'er. If this continues, you'll collapse before she even wakes up."
Madam Hong Lian looked at him with deep concern.
"I'm fine. Yunlan became like this because of me. No matter what, I have to cure her."
Ling Feng looked at the pale girl on the bed. He had no mood to rest at all.
"Mr. Ling..."
Hearing his words, Yue Yunlan felt warmth fill her heart. She never expected Ling Feng to care about her this much.
She forced herself to gather some strength and let out a faint sound. Ling Feng immediately noticed and quickly walked over. He grabbed her wrist and checked her pulse, and his face lit up with joy.
"Her pulse is much more stable. That's great!"
He quickly took out several golden needles and inserted them gently into her back. Finally, Yue Yunlan let out a breath of turbid air and slowly opened her beautiful eyes.
"Lan'er, you're awake!"
"Miss, you finally woke up!"
Yue Zhonglian and Madam Hong Lian, along with Qiao Qiao, all rushed forward with red eyes full of tears.
Yue Yunlan had never imagined she would see them again.
"Father... Mother... Qiao Qiao..."
She softly called out to them, and they immediately began crying with relief.
"Yunlan, you're awake. That's all that matters. You've been unconscious for several days."
Ling Feng slowly withdrew his elemental force. His efforts over the past few days had not been in vain after all.
"Mr. Ling..."
Yue Yunlan looked at Ling Feng. A faint smile appeared on her pale and exhausted face.
"I'm here. I'm right here."
Ling Feng gently helped her sit up and let her lean against him. His voice was slightly choked.
"You're awake now, so everything will be fine. I won't let anything happen to you."
"Mm..."
Warmth filled Yue Yunlan's heart again. For someone as dense as Ling Feng to say something like that was truly rare.
Was she dreaming?
The sudden happiness made her almost afraid to believe it was real.
"Silly girl, you've been unconscious for so many days. You must be hungry."
Madam Hong Lian wiped away her tears and spoke gently.
Yue Yunlan nodded weakly. She was too frail to even speak properly.
"Alright, I'll go cook for you. I'll make your favorite lotus soup."
Madam Hong Lian quickly left the room. Seeing her daughter in such a fragile state made her heart feel like it was being cut by knives.
Soon, everyone briefly explained what had happened while she was unconscious. Qiao Qiao enthusiastically described how Ling Feng had rushed everywhere to borrow the Hong Lian relic, exaggerating the story as she spoke. Only then did Yue Yunlan realize that Ling Feng had saved her life.
"Mr. Ling... thank you."
Yue Yunlan gently bit her lip and looked at Ling Feng.
"I should be the one thanking you. If it weren't for you, I might have made a terrible mistake and turned into a monster that only knows how to kill."
Ling Feng smiled faintly. "Don't worry. You'll recover soon."
After chatting for a while, Yue Yunlan grew tired again and fell asleep, but a sweet smile remained on her face.
...
Although Yue Yunlan had finally woken up, Yue Zhonglian and Madam Hong Lian felt both joy and fear. They were happy their daughter could talk and smile again, but they also knew the Hong Lian relic could only keep her alive for about one month.
One month was far too short.
In front of Yue Yunlan, they always pretended to be cheerful, but when no one was around, they could not hide their sorrow.
Three more days passed. Under Ling Feng's careful treatment, Yue Yunlan's condition improved significantly. She could even get out of bed and walk slowly.
During these three days, Yue Zhonglian had put aside all official duties and stayed with his daughter as much as possible.
All his life, he had been a good sect leader, but not a good father.
Now, he only wanted to make up for it.
On this day, Ling Feng finally decided to leave the Tianbai imperial capital with Yue Yunlan and head to the Misty Ghost Forest to seek guidance from the Tianbai Emperor's spiritual manifestation regarding the Hong Lian Sacred Body.
Over the past few days, Ling Feng had tried every method he could think of, but none were very effective. As the power of the Hong Lian relic inside Yue Yunlan continued to weaken, he became more anxious by the day.
Although Yue Zhonglian and Madam Hong Lian were reluctant to part with their daughter, they knew staying in the imperial capital meant waiting for death. Going out with Ling Feng to search for medicine might still offer a chance of survival.
At the northern outskirts of the imperial capital, inside a stone pavilion, they prepared to say their farewells.
Besides Yue Zhonglian and Madam Hong Lian and several elders from the Cangqiong Sect, Yan Cangtian, who was like both teacher and father to Ling Feng, had also come to see them off.
"Mr. Ling, I'm entrusting Lan'er to you."
Madam Hong Lian looked deeply at her daughter and sighed softly. If they truly could not find a cure, then spending the final days of her life with Ling Feng might not be such a regret after all.
"Don't worry, Madam Yue. I will definitely find a way to cure Yunlan."
Ling Feng nodded firmly. Then he looked at Yue Zhonglian.
"Sect Leader Yue, if Jingwang returns to the imperial capital, please tell him I may not have time to attend his coronation ceremony. But I believe he will become the greatest emperor of the Tianbai Empire."
"I will," Yue Zhonglian said as he patted Ling Feng on the shoulder. "Ling Feng, the people of the Tianbai Empire will always remember that you are the empire's hero."
"The word hero is too heavy for me."
Ling Feng shook his head. Right now, he only wanted to cure Yue Yunlan. Nothing else mattered.
He then walked over to Yan Cangtian.
"Teacher, I have already reconnected your tendons. This is a bottle of Heaven-Incinerating Dragon Flame Essence. Take one drop each day. After half a month, you should recover completely."
"Feng'er, don't worry about me. Seeing how fast you've grown already makes me very happy."
Yan Cangtian patted Ling Feng on the shoulder.
"I'll wait for your return."
After saying their goodbyes, Ling Feng left with Yue Yunlan and Qiao Qiao. He brought Qiao Qiao along so she could take care of Yue Yunlan.
After traveling some distance, Ling Feng sent Yue Yunlan and Qiao Qiao into the Five Elements Heavenly Palace. Then he took out the Misty Ghost Forest token and activated the teleportation array within it. Before long, he arrived inside the Misty Ghost Forest.